The skin is a complex organ consisting of several layers which physiologically act together to either maintain itself in a healthy state or to respond to injuries in the form of trauma and skin disorders. The epidermis is composed of four or five sublayers, depending on which part of the body is being covered. The dermis is the layer beneath the epidermis and has two sublayers. The dermis also contains fibroblasts that produce collagen and elastin fibers. The hypodermis is the deepest layer of the skin and attaches to the dermis by collagen and elastin fibers.
Healthy skin is characterized by a process generally known as epidermal renewal in which the dead top cells flake off the stratum corneum over a period of weeks and are replaced by keratinocytes which are produced and pushed upwards by the other sublayers. The skin can be adversely affected by exposure to sunlight, overexposure to environmental pollutants, poor nutrition, and trauma in the form of cuts, burns, and bruises. In addition to trauma, skin conditions can be caused by disrupting the epidermal renewal process, altering the normal functioning of processes contained with the dermis, or changes to the blood vessels within the dermis.
The skin is capable of implementing healing processes depending on the type and degree of the skin condition affecting it. Wounds resulting in loss of integrity of the skin, such as cuts and abrasions, will generally undergo healing in sequential phases, i.e., hemostasis, inflammation, proliferation, and maturation. Such wounds are repaired in part by the migration of keratinocytes to close the wound. In addition, injured skin tissue is repaired by collagen deposition, collagen remodeling, and scar formation, The healing of other skin conditions proceeds in a similar manner, involving the processes of collagen production, fibroblast production, fibrocyte production, fibroplasia, and angiogenesis.
Commonly-recognized products for promoting healthy skin or treating skin conditions either exert an overall effect such as hydration or are primarily operative with respect to a single aspect of skin physiology. For example, moisturizers increase the hydration of skin by supplying an amount of water to the skin concurrent with an oil or grease to retard subsequent loss of the water. Products such as coal tar and salicylic acid help to normalize the manner and rate at which the cells are shed. However, they can cause adverse effects such as redness and dryness. Steroid creams, such as hydrocortisone cream, lessen inflammation and pruritis. Products such as benzoyl peroxide and alcohol have anti-bacterial effects but also tend to dry out the skin. Topical immunomodulators (TIMs) in the form of skin creams work by altering the immune system response. As such, the prior art teaches products that fail to enlist all the physiological pathways that are relevant to the healing of skin, and in some cases, can cause other skin problems. What is needed is a composition and method of treatment that accelerates the healing of skin conditions via concurrent physiological pathways.